The True Meaning
by KaribbeanBloo
Summary: Tormented by the meaning of his existence, Wrath seeks out the other homunculi. But will his answer be the one he's looking for?


Homunculus. The name itself is enough to inspire fear in any alchemist educated enough to understand its meaning. Their race is the result of a broken taboo, an unspeakable crime against nature, a failed human transmutation to revive the dead. But what does it mean to be a homunculus? That was the question that Wrath had desperately sought to answer, ever since Envy had fed him the red stones.

"Envy," he asked, as they traveled across the countryside on the way to Dante's house. "What does it mean to be a homunculus?"

The elder Sin looked at him blankly. "It means killing humans."

"Why?"

Envy laughed. "What do you mean, 'why'? There is no why. They'll die someday anyway. We do it because we can. We can do whatever we want, murder, robbery, it doesn't matter—no one can stop us. Because we are homunculi."

Wrath thought about this, and found that Envy's explanation didn't make as much sense as he had hoped it would. He tried to forget the whole issue, but he couldn't. His need to have an answer consumed him.

"Mommy," he asked Sloth one night. "What does it mean to be a homunculus?"

Sloth tensed visibly. "It means being a pawn in another's game, playing a part in someone else's dream, because you have no choice. All you can do is hope that somewhere along the way you'll find the answers you want and escape from the past that haunts you."

Wrath considered this. He didn't feel much like a pawn—Dante had no way to control him, because he lacked the weaknesses of the other homunculi. And he didn't need to escape from his past because he couldn't remember being human. No, his answer had to come from someone else…perhaps Pride, being the most important and living among humans as he did, would have his answer.

"Pride," he asked, as he waited for Sloth to be done with work. "What does it mean to be a homunculus?"

Pride smiled kindly. "Does it really matter than much, Wrath?"

"It does to me."

He sighed. "Sometimes, Wrath, there are questions that are better left unanswered."

Wrath stamped his foot, leaving a dent in the floor. "You can't tell me, can you? I asked Envy and Sloth and neither of them could tell me and you're supposed to be the best of us and now YOU can't tell me!"

"Easy, easy…" Pride tried to calm him down. "There's not one universal answer, Wrath. It's different for everyone."

"But I can't think of an answer. I need your help."

He sighed again. "Alright…it means hiding among humans and manipulating them from behind the scenes. Never forget, Wrath—they're easily influenced by foolish things like religion, beliefs, ethics, morals. We have none of these things. That is why we are superior. Does that make sense?"

Wrath thought about it. "A little bit…"

But it didn't, not to him anyway. So he decided to seek out the others and ask them.

"Lust," He climbed into the hotel room she shared with Gluttony through the window. "What does it mean to be a homunculus?"

She didn't answer him.

"It means," grunted Gluttony. "Never being satisfied with what you have, always wanting more, more, more!"

"Yes," Lust whispered. "And it means wanting to be human, no matter what the cost. Because we're incomplete. We lack souls, we're empty."

Wrath looked down at himself. He didn't understand what she meant by empty…he didn't feel empty.

Lust smiled. "If you want to know more…you should ask Greed."

"But Dante…"

"Will never know."

Wrath raced through the city to find the Devil's Nest.

"Greed!" He shouted. "I need an answer!"

Greed looked at him over his sunglasses. "Yeah?"

"I need to know what it means to be a homunculus."

Greed laughed, and took a swig of beer. "I don't know, kid. No one does."

"Please…" Wrath pleaded. "You must have some idea."

Greed studied him for a moment. Then slowly, he allowed his skin to harden, until his body was completely covered in the black shell he protected himself with.

"Kid, this is what it means." He said. "It means being able to do things humans can't, but at what cost? We can't sleep, we don't need to eat. We have no souls. We're creations that should never exist, because nobody is meant to revive the dead. We've cheated the flow of life and we're damned for it, and nobody cares because we're not human. We do horrible things because we're told to, because Dante holds out empty promises. We're called vicious, and heartless, and we just feel more alone because of it. This is what a homunculus is, kid—an abomination. And no stone can change that."

Wrath turned and walked away, thinking about what Greed had said. He considered it day and night, from every angle, weighed it against what the others had said, until at last it all made sense.

"Hey, Wrath," Envy said one night, as they stalked the Fullmetal Alchemist. "Did you ever find an answer to what it meant to be a homunculus?"

Wrath looked up into Envy's face. It was uncommonly gentle, and curious. He could see Envy was seriously interested in what Wrath might say.

"Yeah, I did." he said finally.

After a long moment, Envy asked: "Well, what was it?"

"Being a homunculus…" Wrath paused, afraid to say it. "Means that we're…monsters."

Envy grinned wickedly.

"Exactly."


End file.
